


Hurting Hands; Healing Hands

by AngelFinally



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Non-Graphic Violence, Sexual Assault, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 19:32:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17924984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelFinally/pseuds/AngelFinally
Summary: Amy gets attacked on her way home. Please know that there are non-specific descriptions of a sexual assault but there is no actual rape in this story.





	Hurting Hands; Healing Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Dear readers, this is a very sensitive subject that I want you all you know I am treating with great delicacy. Many, if not all of us have been impacted in some way by the subject of sexual assault, rape, molestation or other kind of sexual misconduct. If this is a subject that could trigger something in you, please feel free to move on without reading. But if you choose to continue, know that the description of the attack is pretty mild. It's more about the emotions the victim is having and how her support team cares for her. It's probably pretty unrealistic in how "happy" this story ends. But it's my dream that if someone does suffer violence that they'd have people like Rosa and Jake to help them through it.
> 
> I wrote this a few months ago before I knew there was going to be a #MeToo episode, but since the episode airs this week I figured I might as well post it.
> 
> Thanks for making your way through the notes! Betcha don't even want to read the ones at the end, right? 😉

Hurting Hands; Healing Hands

Part One

Jake arrived at the emergency room of Brooklyn Methodist as quickly as his broken-down car would take him. He and Rosa spotted each other at the same time and she rose to her feet to meet him.

"Jake," she started, seeing the panic on his face, "Calm down, she's going to be fine."

"Rosa, what happened? Where is she? I need to see her," he demanded, trying to look past Rosa, ignoring her effort to keep him from losing control.

"She's in with a doctor and a nurse, they're treating her, and we can go see her in a few minutes. There's also a uniformed officer taking her statement. I'll tell you everything I know, but you have to chill." He heard her words that time and took a deep breath, calming down a bit. Rosa lead him to a small, thankfully empty waiting room and they both sat.

"Amy was attacked on her way home," Rosa started. Jake knew this part, but it was important to hear the story from the beginning. "She was walking up to the stoop at about ten o'clock when a man knocked her down and dragged her into the alley next to your building. He didn't rob her, but he beat her up pretty badly." Rosa paused, making sure Jake heard her next words clearly. "Jake, she was not raped." He let out a huge breath that he didn't know he was holding and tears came to his eyes as a feeling of relief flooded over him.

"Oh my God, Rosa, that was my biggest fear in this! I'm so reliev-"

"Jake, before you celebrate," Rosa interrupted, "you need to know that she was sexually assaulted."

He froze. 

"She fought off the asshole before he actually raped her, but he did manhandle her pretty badly," Rosa continued. "From what I was able to glean on the way over here, he got his hands on her, pinned her to the wall, groped her and tore her clothing. She seemed to think he was trying to rape her but that's when her training kicked in and she started kicking his ass." As gut-wrenching as this was, Jake's heart still swelled with pride at his ass-kicking wife. 

"Was he arrested?" Jake asked.

"No, he took off as soon as she started fighting back. But they did a full exam, including a rape kit. As you know, there might be some DNA evidence, even though there was no penetration."

Jake had worked rape cases before, several of them, so the words Rosa spoke went right into his cop brain. But he wasn't thinking like a cop then. He was thinking like an angry husband whose wife was viciously attacked by a pervert. A thousand questions were spinning around in his head, but he didn't get a chance to ask them because a nurse came into the room.

"Mr. Peralta?" she asked, looking at Jake. He jumped to his feet. "Yes! I'm Jake Peralta! Is she okay? Can I see my wife now?"  
"Yes," the nurse replied, "She's ready to see you." Those were the best words he had heard all night. He looked to Rosa and she squeezed his arm. They both then followed the nurse into the emergency room and over to a bed behind a curtain. "Mrs. Peralta," the nurse spoke quietly as she pulled the curtain back, revealing Amy siting upright on a gurney in a hospital gown. "You have a visitor."

 

Part Two

The sight before him nearly took his breath away. Amy had a swollen right eye that was black and blue with a bandage over her eyebrow, a scrape and bruise on her cheekbone, a splint on the middle finger of her left hand, and an I.V. attached to the back of her hand. Her feet were covered by a blanket and her hair was messily falling out of the tight bun she has put it in that morning.

But Jake didn't really see any of that. Everything and every person in the periphery was unnoticed by him. All he saw was the smile on her face when she layed eyes on him, and her arms reaching out to him as he approached her on the gurney.

He walked quickly to her bedside, but then stopped short when he got close. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her tightly, but he was afraid of exacerbating any injury that she had suffered. Instead of hugging her, he took her right hand and squeezed it, kissing the knuckles. They smiled painfully at each other, both with unshed tears in their eyes. 

"Detective Peralta," Jake heard a voice on his left. He turned and saw a familiar uniformed officer with a note pad open and a pen in hand.

"Officer Alvarado?" Jake inquired.

"Yes, sir. My partner and I were the responding officers when Sergeant Santiago called 911. I've been taking her statement. I'm almost done, but I can finish another time if you need to be alone."

"Della, you've been great," Amy finally spoke, "Please, keep going. I'd like to finish this and go home, if that's alright."

"Of course, Ma'am. As soon as possible," Alvarado replied.

"Amy, I'm going to swing by your place and grab you a change of clothes, is that okay?" Rosa asked.

"Oh, Rosa, that would be wonderful! Thank you so much!" Amy answered. Without another word, Rosa departed on her mission.

As Officer Alvarado summed up the attack and confirmed a few details, Jake simply listened and held Amy's hand. He held back his reactions to the facts that he was learning in order to keep from making things worse, but inside it was killing him to know that his wife was attacked so viciously. He just kept a hold of her hand and tried to smile at her reassuringly.

Rosa returned about a half hour later with clean clothes for Amy. Amy was discharged with a prescription for pain killers and a bag with her personal items, minus what was left of the clothes she had on. They were bagged with the rape kit to be tested later. Exhausted and leaning on Jake, Amy carefully walked to the car so he could drive her home. She couldn't wait to be surrounded by her familiar things, the familiar smell of her home, and the safe & familiar feeling of her husband holding her as she drifted off to sleep.

Part Three

Walking into the apartment was a surreal experience for Amy. Everything looked just as she left it that morning, but then again it was all different. Maybe it wasn't the apartment that was different. She stood in the middle of the room for a while, halfway between the dining room table and the sofa. Meanwhile, Jake was busy hanging up Amy's purse and jacket, dropping the mail on the table, and putting away the shoes that he had neglected that morning. Amy turned around to look at Jake but he seemed to be avoiding her gaze as he futzed around the room doing things that were really unimportant in that moment.

"Jake," she called to him softly. He didn't answer right away. "Jake, come here. Please." He then stopped what he was doing and slowly walked over to her. She gazed up at him with tired eyes and unshed tears. She took a deep breath, then leaned into his chest, resting her forehead on his shoulder and her hands on his waist. Jake softly, nervously placed his hands on her upper arms. She longed for his strong embrace, but he was reluctant to hold her. He wanted very much to scoop her up in his arms and never let her go, but he worried that she might be sensitive to being touched so soon after an assault. After a moment, Amy lifted her head and looked at Jake's face. "I need to talk a little bit," she started. "Can I talk a little bit? I need to tell you what happened."

"Of course you can! Say anything and everything you want to," Jake offered. "Do you want to sit?" he asked gesturing to the sofa.

She hesitated before answering. "Actually, I really just want you to hold me for a while right here. Will you hold me, Jake?"

Without hesitation and setting aside his apprehension, Jake stepped close, wrapped his arms around Amy's shoulders and tucked her head under his chin. He felt her instantly relax into his embrace as she let her arms go around his waist, being careful of her broken finger. The quiet moment lasted for longer than Amy thought it would. She wanted to stay in Jake's embrace. His arms were strong and safe. His hands were warm and kind. His body was firm and comforting. For the first time since the attack, she began to cry.

 

Part Four

Amy's silent tears turned into sobs as she clung to her husband with as much strength she had left. She wasn't sure she had ever cried like that in her whole life. But then again, she had never been assaulted like that in her whole life. Jake simply held her, rubbing her back just a little bit. Listening to her sobs, feeling her lungs fill with gasped air, knowing that his hoodie was absorbing her tears. His heart was breaking. The fact that he wasn't there to prevent this from happening was killing him.

Slowly her sobs abated. They didn't let each other go, though. Amy just breathed deeply into Jake's shirt and Jake just kept his arms around her, holding her. Jake remained aware of Amy's cues and she wasn't giving any indication that she wanted him to let go. So he didn't. 

"He surprised me," Amy began. "I was digging for my keys and he tackled me. He knocked the wind right out of my lungs. It happened so fast."

Jake just held her and listened to her.

"I thought I was being mugged. I offered him my purse, my phone, but he didn't want them. He turned me to face the wall, pinned me against it and started pawing at me. He ripped my shirt, popped the button on my pants, starting saying awful things to me, talking about what he was going to do to me... he said such filthy, evil things. His hands, Jake... his hands were all over me!" She buried her face further into Jake's chest. Then she lifted her head to look at Jake, a terrified expression accompanied the next memory. "But it wasn't until I was able to look over my shoulder and see into his eyes that it dawned on me. He was going to rape me. That's when I knew I had to fight back," she continued. Jake looked at her, already proud to know her. "I don't know why it took so long for me to react, but I finally did and I remembered how to fight. I stomped my heel into his foot and elbowed him in the ribs, then he slammed me into the wall. That's how I got this," she said, gesturing to the black eye and cut eyebrow. "But it was enough. I spun around and jabbed him in the eye. I think that's how I broke my finger," she added, wincing at the memory. If she broke her finger in his eye, Jake wondered what the douche-bag's eye looked like by then. 

"Jake, I got him off of me! He stumbled back, swearing like a sailor, and took off running." There was a pause as she caught her breath and wiped her lingering tears away. Jake just gazed down at her, this amazing creature who was the purest of heart and the baddest of asses. "I found my phone, called 911, then called you." That's when Jake's heart sank. Amy could tell he felt guilty by the way his face changed from proud to ashamed.

"Amy, I'm so sorr-" he started, but she placed a hand on his chest, interrupting him.

"Jake, you were on a stake-out. We both know that there are long stretches of radio silence during stake-outs. You are not to blame for this! That's why I called Rosa. I knew she'd find you and get you to me." Amy was insistent. And she was right. He knew it, but he couldn't keep himself from feeling responsible.

"Ames, you're my wife. If I was there he probably never would have approached you," he said.

"Babe, please don't go down that rabbit hole. There are so many things that could have prevented this from happening. But it happened, and I survived." Jake grimaced at the knowledge that he could have prevented the assault, or at least fought off the sicko that layed a hand on the woman he loves. But he knew Amy was right.

"Yes," Jake said, nodding and smiling, "You survived. You kicked his ass like the ass-kicking survivor that you are. My wife: maker of binders, burner of dinners, kicker of asses!" That made her release a much-needed laugh as he hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"Can we go to bed now?" Amy asked, suddenly feeling extremely fatigued.

"Of course," Jake answered, instantly straight-faced again. He kissed her temple and they walked hand-in-hand down the hall to their bedroom.

He helped her dress for bed, since her finger was still throbbing and she was just sore all over. They talked about how awesome a friend Rosa was, to drop everything and come to her. They chatted about Officer Alvarado and what a fine cop she had become. They spoke about making a follow-up appointment with her GP and maybe looking into a therapist or support group for sexual assault survivors. That hit them both hard. They knew that this attack was going to have long lasting effects. But for the night, all they had to do was sleep. 

Jake settled down on his side of the bed and Amy sidled up next to him. Their natural sleeping postures were separate yet close, but that night Amy felt like she needed to be touching her husband. She layed her head in the crook of his shoulder and gingerly placed her left hand on his chest. She took comfort in his warmth, his strength, and his gentleness. There was no question in her mind that she was safe in his hands.

As his left hand settled on the small of her back, they both relaxed and knew that they'd rest together that night so that they could fight together another day.

**Author's Note:**

> This story has more in it. I know the attacker will be found and arrested, possibly pummeled by Rosa, but I don't have it in me to write that. I do feelings, not plot. If anyone wants to write the arrest, trial, sentencing and incarceration of this scum bag I'd love to read it! If not, I think this story can stand alone.


End file.
